ANTI- CYBER BULLYING LAWS IN INDIA

Unique Law
Jan 14, 2023
5 min read

INTRODUCTION

The contemporary world we live in is prone to the approvingly refined technology that this era is attempting to adapt to. With greater technologies comes great accountability, and with greater accountability comes a malady that is to be paid for by our cognitive health. For years, we have seen the issue of bullying never being resolved. Physical Bullying has now taken a shape of Virtual Bullying resulting in it being called "Cyber Bullying". The term Cyber Bullying denotes bullying that is done virtually through digital devices such as Computers/Laptops, Mobile Phones, and Tablets which are executed via SMS, instant messages, and various online platforms where derogatory, harmful, and detrimental, as well as false statements, are seen to be made about someone which results into cyberbullying. When a victim is harassed threatened, embarrassed, and ridiculed through digital devices and technology, it is then referred to as Cyberbullying. The purpose of this blog is to explain the reasons behind cyberbullying and the laws available in this area as well as to provide information on various ways to avoid cyberbullying.

THE OFFENCE OF CYBERBULLYING INCLUDES: -

Sending of any obscene or vulgar messages.
Posting any kind of humiliating content about the victim.
Hacking of the victim's account.
Sending or posting mean and vulgar messages online.
Threats of violence.
Threats of child pornography.
Trolling.
Impersonating.

WHAT GENERATES INDIVIDUALS, PREDOMINANTLY ADOLESCENTS, TO BULLY OTHER HUMAN BEINGS?

According to psychologists, the sentiment of being superior to the prey is what mainly pokes the bully to execute such an offense. (1) Cyberbullying is predominant among adolescents. It is mainly because of the imprudence of the parents. Usage of phones from a premature age can result in an adolescent being a bully or a victim. Most parents are oblivious to their child being a victim of a bully because of the scant knowledge of their child. Children don't feel the essence of notifying their parents of the predicament they have been suffering from. A parent shall always scrutinize his/her child's development not only physically but also mentally. As children who bully are more plausible to formulate " anti-social personality disorder" which is a disorder colloquially comprehended as sociopathy or psychopathy. Psychologists also uncover that scars or mental torture suffered from an early age have more impact on a human than that from adulthood period. (2) There can be miscellaneous reasons for an adult to cyberbully another individual. It could be for personal reasons, or because of a mental condition.

PROMINENT LAWFUL PROVISIONS AGAINST CYBERBULLYING

In India, there are no decrees or laws constructed to truthfully deal with cyberbullying. As the use of the internet is seen to progressively increase, the number of cyber transgressions has also seen an upsurge. Such mischievousness is required to be dealt with by a robust set of laws. The very first case of cyberstalking in India was the Manish Kathuria Case where the perpetrator was seen stalking a woman called Ritu Kohli via online means and further abused her by sending vulgar and obscene messages.

The Indian Penal Code & Information Technology Act, 2000: (3)

Section 292 A of the Indian Penal Code effectively deals with- Printing or exhibiting grossly indecent matters.
Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code deals with- Sexual harassment and punishment for Sexual Harassment.
Section 345D of the Indian Penal Code deals with- Stalking.
Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code- Defamation.
Section 66E of the Information Technology Act adequately deals with- Punishment for Violation of Privacy.
Section 67A Information Technology Act - Punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts, etc., in electronic form.
Section 67B Information Technology Act - punishment for publishing or transmitting material depicting children in sexually explicit acts, etc., in electronic form.

The Indian legal system is required to take the issue of cyberbullying seriously as the predominant use of the internet has coached to some severe issues all over the country. According to the experimenters, India is among the top three nations that face a huge crisis with cyberbullying and cybersecurity laws. As per the Social Media Statistics for the year 2022, over 65% of parents have quoted cyberbullying done via social media as their major concern. (4) Moreover, about 33% of females and 16.6% of males have demonstrated depressive signs at a very young age. (5) Most humans tend to neglect such offenses which leads to multifarious mental health issues such as augmented stress and anxiety, misbehaving violently, low self-esteem, and depression. We have seen the world coming together to fight off varied hardships accomplished unitedly. The world and its people once again require such a united approach to a problem that cannot be executed and accomplished individually.

WHAT CAN BE THE STEPS TAKEN TO AVOID SUCH A MISHAPPENING?

Always maintain track of who can view your personal information through various social platforms.
If you are a victim of cyberbullying, then it is advised to not respond or retaliate. Blocking or reporting such an offense shall be the foremost action to evade such a nuisance.
One shall also keep his/her social profile safe. Such an effort will retain an individual unburdened from any virtual bully.
If reporting or blocking off the user turns out to be of no assistance, then one shall seek out support.
Saving the proof and evidence is also an advisory step. It is very crucial to keep and secure all the evidence that the victim has fallen prey to. This will aid the victim to acquire an upper hand in the case.
Conveying passwords of your social profile is correspondingly a big no.
If there is a young adolescent or even a grown-up coming across any virtual bully in India, then the ask for aid is crucial as well as mandatory. There are various approaches are as follows: -
The local police.
State Cyber Cell.
An individual can also lodge an online complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

CONCLUSION

A lot of development is required to be able to put an end to cyberbullying all over the world. But this does not imply that no effort shall be brought. Secondly, the general public should be informed about cyberbullying and the various ways and methods we can deal with it. This could help us fight and put an end to cyberbullying. With little, we become more, and with this, we shall one day be able to eradicate the nuisance of bullying whether it be virtual or physical. The aim is to bring a change. Promising programs, agendas, awarness and laws are the requirement to obtain such a change. Once such agendas, laws, and programs are well established, then the aim to tackle cyberbullying will be within reach.

~Aliya Shaikh